Great show by the boys last night in Vancouver, and they even managed to overecome some rather large technical difficulties near the end of the show.
They were in a great mood, as was the crowd, and sounded really tight. The new trombone player (whose name escapes me) (Lesley: IT'S MIKE!!), seemed to fit in really well and let loose on his solos. Ron, the second trumpet player, aslo played well, although it seemed he could use a bit more to do at times. I realize that they don't want him upstaging Glen, but I can't imagine that happening, so you could probably spare him a couple more notes.
Anyway, around the 70 or 75 minute mark of the set, near the end of Go Daddy-O, the slight technical difficulties kicked in. :)
Most of the power in the bar went off. This knocked out the whole sound system and most of the lights in the club. The only light came from some emergency lights, some of the stage lights (they must have a separate power supply), and the monitors of the cash registers. (good to see the club has its priorities straight :)
And then a few moments later, the fire alarm started to intermittingly ring. A few moments later, after Scotty talked to some of the stage hands and apparently determined that the power wasn't coming back, the unplugged portion of the show began.
They got everyone up front, with the five horns playing as loud as they could to make themselves heard. Kurt starting out just banging his drumsticks together, until someone eventually got him a snare drum and a cymbol. Dirk of course was still at his bass, and Josh left the piano to help with the singing. And finally, Scotty shouted out the vocals and encouraged everyone to sing.
So, they finished Go Daddy-O, left the stage and then came back for an encore with the Goodbye Song (including a horns only rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit, which I thought was quite hilarious.) Part way through this some firemen in full gear and carry axes came wandering by, looking like they were heading to the kitchen. I wasn't too worried since they seemed quite calm and casual, although on second thought maybe running through a dark crowded room carrying an ax wouldn't be highly intelligent.
So the band left the stage again and came back with a final encore of Minnie the Moocher, where Scotty really got the crowd singing and the horns really had to work to make themselves heard.
All in all, the really handled the problems very well, and I think most in the crowd left quite happy. I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get to hear 2000 Volts or Old McDonald, but I'm not sure if that was because they weren't part of the set list, or they were, but they don't lend themselves very well to being played unplugged (which I don't think they do.)
I didn't stick around to see if there
was a meet and greet, but I wouldn't be surprised
if there wasn't, since I expect both management and the firemen
wouldn't
want all these people hanging around in a dark room,
any longer than was necessary.